[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 108 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34379-34380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11620]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R02-OAR-2019-0681; FRL-10006-86-Region 2]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Jersey; 
Revisions to Emissions Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the 
State of New Jersey. This proposed revision requests to remove from the 
SIP the recordkeeping, emission reporting, photochemical dispersion 
modeling, and inventory requirements for t-butyl acetate (TBAC) as a 
volatile organic compound (VOC). The proposed revision is consistent 
with the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R02-
OAR-2019-0681, at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ysabel Banon, Air Programs Branch, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Office, 290 Broadway, 25th 
Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-3382, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 29, 2017, the State of New 
Jersey through the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), 
formally submitted a proposed revision to the New Jersey SIP which 
repeals New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC) 7:27-34, ``TBAC Emission 
Reporting.''

I. Background

    TBAC is a VOC that is used as a solvent in coating operations, and 
may be found in products, such as paints, inks, and adhesives. VOCs are 
organic compounds of carbon that, in the presence of sunlight, react 
with sources of oxygen molecules, such as nitrogen oxides 
(NOX), in the atmosphere to produce tropospheric ozone, 
commonly known as smog. Common sources that may emit VOCs include 
paints, coatings, housekeeping and maintenance products, and building 
and furnishing materials.
    VOCs have different levels of volatility, depending on the 
compound, and react at different rates to produce varying amounts of 
ozone. VOCs that are non-reactive or of negligible reactivity to form 
ozone react slowly and/or form less ozone; therefore, reducing their 
emissions has limited effects on local or regional ozone pollution. 
Section 302(s) of the CAA specifies that the EPA has the authority to 
define the meaning of VOC and thus what compounds shall be treated as 
VOCs for regulatory purposes.
    It is the EPA's policy that organic compounds with a negligible 
level of reactivity should be excluded from the regulatory definition 
of VOC in order to focus control efforts on compounds that 
significantly affect ozone concentrations. The EPA uses the reactivity 
of ethane as the threshold for determining whether a compound has 
negligible reactivity. Compounds that are less reactive than, or 
equally reactive to, ethane under certain assumed conditions may be 
deemed negligibly reactive and, therefore, suitable for exemption by 
the EPA from the regulatory definition of VOC. The policy of excluding 
negligibly reactive compounds from the regulatory definition of VOC was 
first laid out in

[[Page 34380]]

the ``Recommended Policy on Control of Volatile Organic Compounds'' (42 
FR 35314, July 8, 1977) and was supplemented subsequently with the 
``Interim Guidance on Control of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ozone 
State Implementation Plans'' (70 FR 54046, September 13, 2005). The 
regulatory definition of VOC as well as a list of compounds that are 
designated by the EPA as negligibly reactive can be found at 40 CFR 
51.100(s)(1).
    On September 30, 1999, EPA proposed to revise the regulatory 
definition of VOC in 40 CFR 51.100(s)(1) to exclude TBAC as a VOC. 64 
FR 52731. In most cases, when a negligibly reactive VOC is exempted 
from the definition of VOC, emissions of that compound are no longer 
recorded, collected, or reported to states or the EPA as part of VOC 
emissions. However, the EPA's November 29, 2004 final rule excluded 
TBAC from the definition of VOC for purposes of VOC emissions 
limitations or VOC content requirements but continued to define TBAC as 
a VOC for purposes of all recordkeeping, emissions reporting, 
photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory requirements that 
apply to VOCs. 69 FR 69298 (November 29, 2004).
    On February 25, 2016, the EPA revised the regulatory definition of 
VOC under 40 CFR 51.100(s)(1) to remove TBAC's recordkeeping, emissions 
reporting, photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory 
requirements. 81 FR 9339. Accordingly, on October 24, 2017, the NJDEP 
repealed N.J.A.C. 7:27-34 which includes TBAC emissions reporting 
requirements within the State of New Jersey.

II. Summary of the SIP Revision and the EPA's Analysis

    In order to conform with the EPA's current regulatory requirements 
for TBAC in the February 25, 2016 final rule, New Jersey is now 
requesting that NJAC 7:27-34, ``TBAC Emissions Reporting,'' consisting 
of TBAC's recordkeeping, emissions reporting, photochemical dispersion 
modeling, and inventory requirements, be removed from the SIP.
    The EPA has already made the determination that TBAC is 
``negligible reactive'' and therefore has low contribution to ozone as 
well as a low likelihood of risk to human health or the environment, 
and removed the recordkeeping, emission reporting, photochemical 
dispersion modeling, and inventory requirements for TBAC. 69 FR 69298 
(November 29, 2004), 81 FR 9339 (February 25, 2016).
    The EPA is proposing to approve the removal of the recordkeeping, 
emission reporting, photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory 
requirements for TBAC from the New Jersey SIP. This proposed SIP 
revision will not interfere with attainment of any national ambient air 
quality standard (NAAQS), reasonable further progress, or any other 
requirement of the CAA, including section 110(l), and is consistent 
with the EPA's February 25, 2016 final rule. 81 FR 9339.

III. Proposed Action

    Based on a review of the submitted material, the EPA is proposing 
to approve the removal from New Jersey SIP of NJAC 7:27-34, ``TBAC 
Emissions Reporting,'' which includes recordkeeping, emissions 
reporting, photochemical dispersion modeling, and inventory 
requirements for TBAC. Therefore, the EPA is proposing to approve New 
Jersey's SIP revision, which was submitted on November 29, 2017. The 
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this 
rulemaking action. These comments will be considered before taking 
final action.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this document, the EPA is proposing to amend regulatory text 
that includes incorporation by reference. As described above in section 
III, the EPA is proposing to remove NJAC 7:27-34, ``TBAC Emissions 
Reporting,'' from the New Jersey State Implementation Plan, which is 
incorporated by reference in accordance with the requirements of 1 CFR 
part 51.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. Accordingly, 
this action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements 
and does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by 
state law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866.
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the Clean Air Act; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    In addition, this proposed rulemaking action, pertaining to TBAC, 
is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or in any other 
area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a tribe has 
jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does not have 
tribal implications and will not impose substantial direct costs on 
tribal governments or preempt tribal law as specified by Executive 
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: May 22, 2020.
Peter Lopez,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2020-11620 Filed 6-3-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P